Planning and Community Development Department

Within this site you will find convenient access to information, services and programs that support the City’s commitment to become a sustainable and green community. The City is committed to addressing urban growth issues impacting energy, waste reduction, urban design, urban nature, transportation, environmental health, and water. Want to help? Click here for the Green Training Program!

LATEST

The February edition of the Planning Report highlights California real estate developer Rick Caruso, providing their public and private sector perspectives to a discussion of sustainable cities at the 6th VerdeXchange conference, held this February in Downtown Los Angeles. Bogaard focuses his remarks on Pasadena’s sustainability efforts since the mid-2000s, while Caruso describes how his company achieves environmental responsibility, and urges business-government collaboration in facilitating sustainability. Click the following link to view the report.

What is a Green and Sustainable City?

A green and sustainable city is a community of residents, neighbors, workers, and visitors who strive together to balance ecological, economic, and social needs to ensure a clean, healthy and safe environment for all members of society and for generations to come.

Why become a green and sustainable city?

To ensure a viable future, the City must take a leadership role and address the impacts placed on the environment by urbanization and a growing populace. These impacts include air and water pollution, climate change, and habitat loss.

How will Pasadena become a green city?

The City has taken a number of significant actions to become a green city. Recent examples include:

Adoption of an Environmental Charter

Endorsement of the United Nations Green Cities Declaration and Urban Environmental Accords

Endorsement of the US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement

Adoption of a Green City Action Plan

Adoption of ordinance creating an Environmental Advisory Commission

Adoption of a Green Building Program

Adoption of a resolution in support of Green Cities California

Environmental Charter

The City of Pasadena elects to be an environmental advocate and a leader in environmental compliance and protection. The City shall cultivate superior environmental standards that will provide for sustainable municipal development. The City recognizes that growth and opportunity cannot be conducted at the expense of environmental protection and enhancement, and that growth and environmental stewardship are intimately related.

The City believes that the implementation of an environmental ethic need not interfere with economic development, and that practicing such environmental ethic can ultimately be expected to enhance economic affairs and provide for responsible, farsighted development.

The City believes that the protection of the urban and natural environments is a social responsibility and a fundamental obligation of a democratic government, and that an ecologically impoverished and polluted environment adversely impacts human health.

The City is striving to become a model for environmental excellence and a prevailing force in environmental protection. To accomplish these goals, the City shall establish policies that will incorporate environmental responsibility into its daily management of urban and industrial growth, education, energy and water use, air quality, transportation, waste reduction, economic development, and open space and natural habitats.

The United Nations Green Cities Declaration is a collaborative platform and a call to action for cities across the globe to take in recognition that a majority of the world’s population now reside in cities, and that cities consume 75% of the world’s natural resources creating environmental challenges. The Urban Environmental Accords contain 21 action items that lay the groundwork for addressing universal urban environmental issues on energy, waste reduction, urban design, urban nature, transportation, environmental health, water issues.

More information on the United Nations Green Cities Declaration and Urban Environmental Accords can be found on the World Environment day website at http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/english/

You can also read the Pasadena Proclamation in support of the United Nations Green Cities Declaration and Urban Environmental Accords. (See Below)

US Conference of Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement

The US Conference of Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement seeks for cities across the United States to commit to reducing global warming pollution levels to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012 in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol. In order to achieve this goal, cities are asked to take actions in their own operations and communities. The Agreement offers twelve measures for cities to take that that will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The goals are compatible with the Urban Environmental Accords although the focus is directed towards reducing global warming.

Green City Action Plan

Approved by the City Council on September 18, 2006 (See below for staff report), the Green City Action Plan is a progressive list of environmental initiatives for the City to take in its quest to become a sustainable and green community and follows the framework of the United Nations Green Cities Declaration and Urban Environmental Accords . The initiatives contained in the plan include developing a green fleet of city vehicles, using only environmentally friendly cleaning products in City buildings, and buying “green” goods where possible.

Green City Indicator Reports

Complimenting the Green City Action Plan annual reports, the city has developed a set of sustainability indicators grouped by the seven thematic areas of the Urban Environmental Accords. The goal is for the city to use this database as a tool for assessing the city’s progress in meeting the UEA targets in a verifiable and measurable way. Additionally, the data will serve to identify areas where adjustments in the Green City Action Plan may need to be considered if progress is lacking. The 2008 version is the first year the indicators were produced.

Environmental Advisory Commission

Effective January 22, 2007 - The Environmental Advisory Commission consists of nine Pasadena residents who advise the City Council and make policy recommendations in support of the goals and objectives of the City’s Environmental Charter and monitor and guide the Green City Action Plan. This commission holds monthly open meetings to the public and serves as a forum for the discussion of environmental issues with local, regional, and global impacts. To view agendas for the meetings, click here.

Green Cities California

To address the urgency and gravity of environmental, social, and economic issues confronting urbanized centers, sustainability professionals from a number of major cities in California met in late 2007 to create Green Cities California (GCC). The purpose of this new collaborative is to cooperatively and collectively take action to accelerate local, regional, national and international efforts to achieve sustainability. Participating cities currently include Berkeley, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, and the County of Marin, which together represent over eight million California residents.

The Pasadena City Council adopted a resolution in support of Green Cities California on February 4, 2008 and committed to take the following five actions in solidarity with the GCC member cities: